When purchasing a home, you are faced with a multitude of decisions and questions! Locating a home that meets all of your needs is not always an easy task. Obtaining a mortgage can appear to be a complex process. We will make the process of purchasing a home easier, more enjoyable, less time-consuming, and less expensive. We are familiar with current homes on the market and we can help you select good neighbourhoods with homes in your price range.

Services we provide

Search all available sources for your new home including MLS current and past listings, for sale by owners, Craigs list, mail drops, door knocking, etc.

Set you up on auto search on the MLS system so that every new listing that matches your criteria is emailed to you immediately with all the details.

Provide you with an excellent app for your "smart phone" so you can view up to the minute information on all MLS listings surrounding you anywhere in the lower mainland. More information than Realtor.ca and faster than the built in delay.

Arrange to view properties at times convenient to you.

Provide you with a list of bankers, inspectors, lawyers / notaries, moving companies, etc who provide great service.

Provide a market analysis to establish an offer price when we find a potential property to purchase.

Write a binding contract with all the necessary "subjects" to make sure there are no issues and that you are protected when purchasing your new home.

Check at the relative city hall to make sure there are no outstanding permits, not a history of a "Grow op", to confirm zoning & Official Community Plan, and verify if there is a site survey and occupancy permit.

We will make sure your move from your current home to your new home has a minimum of stress.

Financing Facts

Most single family homes under $500,000, townhomes and condos you can purchase with a minimum of 5% downpayment. With less than 20% down you will require CMHC insurance. This will be anywhere from 1.25% of the mortgage amount up to 3.6% for 5% down. This amount is added on the the base amount of the mortgage ( eg. $200,000 plus 3.6% CMHC for total of $207,200 mortgage). When the purchase price is over $500,000 but less than $1 million you will require 10% down for the portion above $500,000.

The "Stress Test" implemented on January 1st 2018 requires that you qualify for your mortgage at the average the major banks current posted rate of a 5 year mortgage. For example the current posted rate in January 2018 is 5.25% so for a $400,000 mortgage your payment would be $2384 per month. This is the maximum your mortgage payment can be no matter what your rate. The net result is it reduces the maximum amount you can borrow by about 20%. With no "stress test" you would have been able to have a mortgage of $500,000.

Lenders will allow you to spend up the 32% of your gross income (total income before taxes)on your housing as long as your total obligation to pay debt does not exceed 40% of your gross income. For example if you have an total annual household income before taxes of $60,000 then the total payments on all your loans (including credit cards, car loans, leases, mortgages, etc.) can not exceed 40% or $24,000 annually. The amount of mortgage available to you will be reduced by bills such as car payments, credit cards etc.

Maximum amortization for a CMHC insured mortgage is 25 years. You can have a 30 year mortgage if you are putting more than 20% down.

Purchases over $1,000,000 must have a minimum of 20% down.

Properties that have been a grow-op are very difficult to finance and often can not be CMHC insured so you need to do some research on current bank andf CMHC policy.

Each lender has mortgage specialists working outside the office that can meet with you after hours (evenings and weekends). If you need to know who the specialist is for your lender give us a call.

You know you are pre-approved when you have given the lender or broker all your financial documents such as pay stubs, job letter, income tax returns, etc and they have given you a letter that says you have been pre-approved for a specific amount.

Being pre-approved in writing puts you in a very strong position when making an offer on a property, especially if you end up in competing offers. If you have just had discussions with your lender and they have given you a verbal amount without reviewing the above information you are not pre-approved. You may waste weeks of time and energy viewing houses in the wrong price range.

Taxes :

Property Transfer tax - BC property transfer tax is 1 % on the first $200,000 plus 2% on any amount between $200,000 and $2,000,000, 3% on amounts between $2,000,000 and $3,000,000 and then 5% on any amount above $3,000,000. There is currently an exemption on property transfer taxes on new construction up to $750,000.

First time Buyer exemption - There are savings in transfer taxes if you meet the qualification. You must never have owned a home anywhere in the world. You must be a resident of British Columbia and have been a resident for more than one year. Your purchase must be under $475,000. If you meet these qualifications you should be exempt from paying the"property transfer tax" There is a declining benefit from $475,000 to $500,000 but if the purchase price is over $500,000 you must pay the full amount. The property must also be your primary residence for a limited time of 12 consecutive months.

Foreign Buyer / Non resident tax

Effective February 21st 2018 there is a 20% tax on the total purchase price if you are not a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant and are purchasing a property in the Greater Vancouver Regional District, Fraser Valley, Capital, Nanimo and Central Okanogan Districts. This tax is in addition to the Property Transfer Tax. Taxes are due at the lawyers office upon completion.

Speculation Tax

The tax applies to the Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley, Capital, and Nanaimo Regional districts and in the municipalities of Kelowna and West Kelowna.

In 2018, the tax rate will be $5 per $1,000 of assessed value. In 2019, the tax rate will rise to $20 per $1,000 of assessed value.

The tax will apply to anyone who owns property in BC that does not occupy the property at least 6 months of the year. Certain areas and properties are exempt.

The province will administer the tax and will collect data to enforce it including, social insurance numbers, household information, and world-wide income information.

Municipal Taxes

Municipal taxes are due at the city or municipal office on or about July 1st. If you purchase after July 1st the Seller will have paid the taxes for the year from January to December and there will be an adjustment at the lawyers office to reimburse the seller for the portion of the year that you will own the property. It will be 1/365 for each day of the year that you own until December 31st. If you buy before July 1st then there will be an adjustment from the seller to you of 1/365 for every day the the seller owned the property between January 1st and when you bought.

We will find the right home for you

Once you've been pre-approved and know what price range you want to stay in we will sit down and review your requirements. There will be features that you absolutely need and then things that would be nice to have. This is very important so that we can narrow down our search. It's also important because when we do find a home that appears to be the right one we can refer back to our original list of requirements.

We will search everywhere for that special home

We will search for properties that fit your needs by using the (MLS®) Multiple Listing Service® (current and expired listings), our own client / contact list and homes that are for sale by owner. If you want to be in a specific location we will canvas the area for properties that meet your requirements.

We have the best possible resources and communication systems available today to help us locate the homes on the market that match your specifications. You can search MLS® listings here at our website.

We will help you every step of the way

We will help you arrange your financing and inspections, and close on the transaction. Our top priority is to make sure that your home buying experience is pleasant, cost-efficient and stress free.